Dutch Delight

Easily seen and read in the 'field'

Proud ringed Shag parents

Ringing kit at the ready

Wednesday 20th February comments: It’s at this time of year when we start receiving various reports from the BTO bird ringing scheme about reports of Farne seabirds being seen elsewhere. In recent years, the Shag ringing scheme (birds are fitted with red plastic rings which can be read with telescopes, so no need to recapture the bird) has produced some good sightings including recent movements to Orkney and north-east Scotland from the Farnes.

However yesterday news filtered through of one going further afield....

Shag
Age when ringed: Chick Location: Brownsman Island
Date ringed: 17th June 2012

Finding date: 18th November 2012 (red ring read in the 'field')
Location: West Terschelling, Netherlands

Distance moved: 509km in 154 days since bird was ringed.

This kind of information is so vital to our understanding of seabird movements and shows the importance of such schemes. The work put in by the ranger team is starting to pay dividends and we look forward to more reports which I'll share with you as they filter in.